Gujarat Forensic Science University at Gandhinagar, along with Wildlife Institute of India (WII) at Dehradun and, Traffic India, kick-started a unique workshop on wildlife crime management for IFS officials from various tiger reserves across the country on Monday.

The week-long tailor-made course has been designed by the wildlife crime experts from DFS, Gandhinagar, WII and Traffic, said officials. The workshop will focus on various aspects of wildlife crimes — poaching, tactics used by poachers, crime scene management, legal position of law enforces, case studies and practical tools and techniques available to forest officials.

Director general of DFS, JM Vyas, said that Gujarat's Gir lion poaching case has now been adopted as a case study across the country. "DFS played a major role in collecting evidences and linking the crime to poachers. The incident has given a new dimension to the role of forensics in any wildlife crime cases. One needs a number of experts — ballistics, toxicology, chemistry and biology, along with conventional forensic experts. We have a pool of experts who are working on various cases from all over the country," he said.

Pradeep Khanna, principal chief conservator of forest, Gujarat, said: "When such crimes are on rise, knowledge of tools and technology of forensics will greatly enhance the capacity of forest officials. Evidences collected by forensic experts can create a watertight case against offenders," he said.

"In the last five years there has been a dramatic change of perception for us in context with forensic investigations. Now, all police personnel in Gujarat are being put through a basic course in forensics," said SS Khandwawala, director general of police, Gujarat.

The workshop has participants from major sanctuaries such as Ranthambhor, Corbett National Park, Kaziranga, Sariska, UP Tiger Reserve, Nagarjun Sagar, Periyar and Valmiki. Though tiger conservation is a priority for the officials, other crimes will also be given due importance, said organisers.

According to DFS officials, the Gir lion poaching case was a milestone for wildlife forensics. MS Dahiya, deputy director of DFS, told TOI that it was a challenge for forensic officials, as it was a big case and variety of expertise was needed.

"We camped in Gir forest and nearby areas where lionpoaching had been reported and meticulously collected samples. Everything from broken leaves to match sticks proved useful. However, bidis and matchboxes found from Gir and Una proved crucial evidences as these pointed towards gangs from Madhya Pradesh," said Dahiya.

He added that police officials then found tribes staying near Una. They were detained on the basis of suspicion. "We took extracts from their fingernails and also went through their belongings. The samples found from them were sent for DNA analysis that confirmed that they indeed were involved in poaching.

"It was a breakthrough for the investigating agencies as they came to know that poachers actually camp within the forest area, kill the lions, skin them and then contact buyers. It was also established that they move in large groups which including women to avoid suspicion. We found that they actually liked lion's blood's smell. We found a number of bloodstained clothes. They had not washed the clothes. This worked as a clinching evidence," he said.

The case's success propelled DFS to establish wildlife crimes investigation department. The department today caters to more than 50 cases annually ranging from electrocution of black bucks to death of parakeets in Uttar Pradesh to DNA analysis of ivory found from south. The department is equipped with tools to analyse any blood sample and animal DNA, said senior DFS officials.

It is the second most lucrative illegal international trade after narcotics with global turnover of more than $20 billion and growing rapidly. In this scenario, conservation of endangered species such as tigers, is a major concern for wildlife experts and forest officials. The eight Asiatic lions in the Gir sanctuary of Gujarat that were poached in 2007, fell prey to this lucrative trade, said forest officials.

This issue was discussed at length at the wildlife crime management workshop at Gandhinagar. "The laws need to be reviewed in the wake of such cases and also to send out a clear message to the traders and poachers. Such cases are relevant today as lion poachers convicted by courts in Gujarat will be released later this year after having finished serving their sentence," said a senior DFS official.

Sameer Sinha, head of Traffic India, said in the workshop that the paradigm of conservation has drastically changed from pre-Independence to date. "Earlier, there used to be special teams for tiger culling in states like Madras owing to the large population of the big cats. Today, there are just 1,411 tigers in India. However, we are faring better than many of our south Asian counterparts in numbers and conservation," said Sinha.Talking about illegal trade, he said that as India ranks sixth globally in biodiversity. The country is a lucrative ground for poachers and traders from around the world.

"Some times back, a Czech duo - a scientist and a poacher — were nabbed from Uttarakhand while they were stealing butterflies and beetles. It is our responsibility to conserve our biodiversity and ensure a stringent punishment by court of law," said Sinha.

According to him, the wildlife crimes are not considered as crimes at all by people at large. "For them, poaching of animal is not as serious a crime as rape or murder. According to wildlife protection acts, the maximum sentence for the poaching is seven years of imprisonment along with fine. However, I have not come across any case where the accused has been given the maximum sentence," he said.

He cited examples of wildlife criminals like Shabbir Husain Qureshi. Qureshi was arrested with one of the biggest consignments in Indian history — 4 tiger skins, 70 leopard skins and 18,000 leopard claws. After serving his sentence he quickly went back to poaching. He was again caught after seven years with a large quantity of such goods.

The investigation into the sensational 2007 poaching case will be a model case for the wildlife conservators participating in the five-day long 'Wildlife Crime Management' course being held at Directorate of Forensic Science (DFS), Gandhinagar. The programme was inaugurated by director general of police, Gujarat, SS Khadwawala on Monday.

The training programme for forest officers of the country has beenorganised by Tiger Conservative Society of India, Wildlife Institute of India- Dehradun, Traffic-India and DFS. Many forest conservators from Gujarat are participating in the programme.

Principal chief conservator of forest, Pradeep Khanna told DNA that the lion poaching case of Gujarat will become a model for investigation into wildlife crimes throughout the country. Talking about the investigation into the case, director Forensic Science Laboratory, JM Vyas said that a team of the FSL camped in Gir and ensured that all evidences were properly collected and analysed.

He said the measures that were taken to help solve the case could also prove helpful in solving other wildlife related cases in the country.The challenge for any investigative agency in convicting an accused is to ensure the collection and preservation of evidences.

"The evidence gathered from the scene of crime and the way they were analysed proved helpful in solving the case and nailing the accused," joint director, DFS, MS Dahiya. Eight lions were killed in the 2007 poaching incident.

Thirty eight people were arrested in connection with the case andlater on convicted. It was a landmark case which proved that 100% conviction is possible in wildlife crime cases.

Chief minister Narendra Modi may have refused to part with any of the Gir lions for a sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, but the Asiatic lions are still at risk of ending up in China — dead.

The success of the state government in nabbing the poachers who, in 2007, killed eight lions in Gir has lulled many into believing that Gujarat's Asiatic lions are now safe. But nothing could be farther from the truth.

The fact of the matter is that the existence of lions everywhere is constantly threatened by poachers. Wildlife experts say that the main reason why lions are prized by poachers is the high demand for lion bones in the international market.

"The purported medicinal value of lion bones fetches high prices for them in the international market," Samir Sinha, head of TRAFFIC India, told DNA on Monday, at the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Gandhinagar. TRAFFIC India, a division of WWF India, does research and analysis and provides support to efforts to curb wildlife trade in India. China is believed to be the main market for lion bones but Sinha categorically said that there are several other countries among the "consumers".

"Chain investigation of poacher gangs is not taking place," he said. "We should try to get to the people who control the whole market. But all that we have done is crack the network of gangs operating within the country." Sinha said that the exact value of the lion's body parts is not completely clear yet. "But there is certainly a perception that its bones have medicinal value," he said. "There does not seem to be much demand for the other body parts, except for the knuckles. But we are exploring further. The important thing is that there is value to lions, be it in India or Africa, and they continue to be hunted by poachers."

Sinha further said that the nature of wildlife crime is always changing. "Earlier, it was perceived to be random but we now know that it is organized. Hence to deal with it, we too need an organised system," he said. A five-day course in 'Wildlife Crime Management' is being held at the Directorate of Forensic Science (DFS), Gandhinagar. The training programme for forest officers of the country has been organised by the Tiger Conservation Society of India, Wildlife Institute of India-Dehradun, TRAFFIC-India and the DFS. Many forest conservators from Gujarat are also participating in the programme.

A leopard attacked a sleeping five-year-old girl, injuring her grievously in Ishwariya village in Veraval in Junagadh. With this incident, the fears of a lurking leopard, which had killed two women in the taluka last month, resurfaced. Locals had breathed a sigh of relief when a leopard was caught from the outskirts of the village on Friday.

Sources at a Veraval private hospital said, Sanjana Maratha, daughter of a farm labourer from Nandurbar in Maharashtra, was sleeping along with her family in the hut when the leopard attacked.

"The animal picked her up by the neck and dragged her away in the middle of the night. The girl's cries awoke the family and neighbours who managed to scare the animal away. It dropped the girl. But, by then she was bleeding profusely," a source said. Doctors attending to Sanjana said on Sunday that her condition remained critical.

22-02-2010Two cubs fall in Open WellDivya BhaskarBriefly translated from Gujarati

This incidence of Open Well happened at Shitwadi Ashram area near Vekariya village, some 15 kms from Dhari in Gir East. Cubs were about 18 months old had fallen into abandoned Open Well. Lions have survived and are safely taken out by forest dept. staff, said RFO Ayer.

Yesterday suddenly fire broke out in Karmdadi round of Dalkhaniya range in Gir East. Fire engulfed about 5 Hacters of grass land before it was controlled. It was natural fire, forest department informed as usual.

RK Hirpara,posted as a veterinary doctor in Sasan,has quit his job.Reason: he got a pay cut.Two more veterinary doctors who were working with the forest department have also suddenly resigned.Officials said these veterinary doctors were on contract with the forest department and were paid Rs 14,000 per month besides travel and dearness allowances.But of late,these veternary doctors were taken on contract with the animal husbandary department on a fixed salary of Rs 12,800 per month and no DA was offered to them.

In all,there are four doctors,two posted in Sakkarbaug zoo in Junagadh,where lions are brought for treatment,one in Bhavnagar and another in Sasan.Of the four,Dr RF Kadiwar is on deputation to Sakkarbaug from Amreli district panchayat,while Dr CM Bhuva,the senior-most doctor at Sakkarbaug,was promoted and sent to Morbi in the animal husbandary department.

A veterinary doctor refusing to be quoted said earlier he drew Rs 14,000 per month and another Rs 3,000 as TA & DA.As his was a field job rescuing animals,he had to travel a lot with the labour and beat guards.The expenses are borne by the doctors as they are the senior most.So far,we were regularly promised that we would be confirmed as full-time doctors, says Hirpara.He said that he had been associated with the forest department for the past 12 years and was getting around Rs 16,000 per month,but under the new contract his salary was fixed at Rs 12,800.

He said a person who has put in 12 years of service should ideally be drawing around Rs 40,000 per month.A senior officer said that after Hirpara and Bhuva,there was no one as experienced as the two and the department was left with only one doctor who too is only on deputation.

A member of the state wildlife board said that in absence of the doctors,the injured animals would now have to be transferred to Sakkarbaug Zoo.

A leopard was caught on the outskirts of Iswariya village in Junagadh district's Veraval taluka on Thursday night by forest officials. The officials were on an alert for past eight days since two women were killed by a wild cat in the village. "On Thursday night, the leopard was trapped in one of the three cages, which were placed to nab it. Presently, we can't say if this leopard (female), which has been caught, was responsible for killing the two women. We have sent the leopard to the rescue centre at Sakkarbaug Zoo in Junagadh,'' said range forest officer KR Vaghashiya. He said, "We had earlier taken the leopard's footprints on victims' bodies, which will now be matched with the captive leopard to know if she was the 'killer' wild cat." TNN

The release of the kingpin of the gang of lion poachers, Sarkashlal, who was arrested in 2007 for the killing of eight lions in Bhavnagar and Junagadh, has come as a huge setback for the team of investigators who meticulously gathered evidence to trap the gang from Madhya Pradesh.

In all, 17 persons were held for the killings of the Asiatic lion, a protected species under schedule 1 of the Wildlife (protection) Act, 1972. The act protecting the animal, however, has come in for a lot of flak as it provides a punishment of only three years for the crime.

Forest officials said that for hunting of schedule I animals, including lions and tigers, the minimum imprisonment was three years which could extend upto seven years. However, offences related to trade and commerce in trophies, and animals articles derived from certain animals, attract imprisonment upto three years and a fine upto Rs 25,000.

S Para, the special public prosecutor in the Junagadh poaching case of 2007, said, "We did not have an eye witness in the case and had to make the case only on the basis of forensic and circumstantial evidences. The court was convinced that the offences were committed but the act allowed only a three-year imprisonment." Para said the government wanted to appeal against Sarkashlal's sentence but realised that the maximum punishment was already awarded.

Special prosecutor for the case in the high court, P Abichandani said the law had not acted as deterrent for poachers. The depleting number of tigers in the country and the increasing incident of poaching are an indication, he said, adding, "The issue has to be taken up by those framing the law."

Lawyer HM Dhruv said, "The threeyear imprisonment is certainly very modest. The accused also get bail easily no matter how strong evidence we have." He said these are cases related to rare and endangered species and hence the punishment should be increased and the case should be tried in the sessions court instead of magisterial courts.

A gang of 10 poachers was responsible for the death of a leopard whose carcass was found ensnared in Nana Khokhara village of Ghogha taluka on February 6, forest department officials said on Wednesday.

Acting swiftly after the leopard's carcass was found, the forest department nabbed four poachers Vana Devipujak, Jagu Devipujak, Bala Devipujak and Samat Devipujak -- from Nana Khokhara and obtained their remand after producing them before a court in Bhavnagar. During their interrogation, the accused revealed the name of six other co-accused, who had set up the snare to kill the beast.

"The accused said they had laid the trap with the aim of ensnaring an animal of the size of a dear or hyena, but when the leopard was trapped and killed, six members of their gang got panicked and fled from the village," said a senior forest officer, who declined to disclose the name of the absconding accused citing secrecy of investigation.

Gujarat today rejected the Centre's offer to swap Asiatic lions in its Gir reserve with tigers in a bid to relocate them in a second home in a protected area in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh.

"There is no way Gujarat can part with its lions. The state has shown a successful model of conservation of lions and therefore it does not want to part with it," the official said.

The official was responding to Environment and Forest Minister Jairam Ramesh's "You give me lions and I will give you tigers" offer to the Narendra Modi government. Gir forest today is the sole and last bastion of the Asiatic lion.

"We have developed expertise in not only conservation of the wild cats through community protection, but also in wildlife crime management.

Gujarat is likely to reject outright the proposal of Union minister for forest and environment Jairam Ramesh's offer for tigers in lieu of lions. The main reason why Gujarat is refusing to transfer lions to Madhya Pradesh under a central plan, is the worry that the neighbouring state would walk away with all its tourists who come to Gujarat to see the Asiatic lions in and around Gir.

Over one lakh domestic and international visitors visit Gir and Devalia national park. Officials in the forest department said that Gujarat government had fears that a majority of tourists coming to Gujarat for lion tourism would be diverted to Madhya Pradesh if the lion roams the wild there in Kuno Palpur which has been notified as a sanctuary.

Officials said lions are the pride of Gujarat, the last abode of the Asiatic lions. They fear Madhya Pradesh, which draws more tourists than Gujarat, will be able to attractively package the lions to tourists who come to Khajuraho. MP promotes its tourism quite aggressively while Gujarat has its dry laws as a handicap.

18-02-2010Man spent night on three to save himself from lionsGujarat SamacharBriefly translated from Gujarati

Gir Lions are found more frequently in Lor village of Jafrabad Taluka. Yesterday Kusabhai Madhubhai Gadthariya wasgurding his farm in the Lor village. During the night a pride of two lions and two cubs came to his farm. The scared man climbed-up the tree in hope that lions will go away in an hours time. But unfortunate man had to spend full night on the tree as lions did not buzz. In the morning he returned to the village to find that other lions were also roaming in the village market place. They had killed a stray cow. Villagers and farm guards spend the full night with roaring lions.

The kingpin in lion poaching cases, Sarkaslal Saharesingh Parghi stood a free man a week ago, as the Gujarat High Court ordered to consider his two separate jail terms concurrently. He was sentenced to three years' imprisonment twice in two different cases in 2008, thus a six-year jail.

But with the high court's decision of treating his sentence concurrently, Parghi got only three years' term, which ended earlier this m o n t h . Parghi and 19 others from Madhya Pradesh were nabbed in April 2007, after six lions were found killed in the Gir National Park and two in Bhavnagar.

They were booked under various sections of the Wildlife Protection Act and the IPC in the Babaria range police station. They did not accept charges, and were tried by a magisterial court in Junagadh. After examining 34 witnesses and relying upon 71 documentary evidences, the JMFC convicted Parghi in two cases awarding him simple imprisonment of three years and fine of Rs 10,000 in each of the cases. Parghi challenged his conviction before a sessions judge, but his appeal was declined in 2009. Then he approached the high court against his conviction as well as the lower court's order to serve two separate jail terms. Justice MD Shah heard his case, wherein his counsel AM Parekh did not press the appeal on merit but contended that the lower court did not order to run all the s e n t e n c e s concurrently. The high court also noticed that the lower court had not properly worded the punishment order, and modified the order holding that the sentences would run concurrently.

The court also noticed that Parghi had stayed in jail for more than three years, and he was entitled to get benefit of set off as per Section 248 of the CrPC. With this order, Parghi who was on bail already, was a free man last week.

The Centre has offered to re-introduce tigers in the forest of Dangs as an incentive to Gujarat to part with some Asiatic lions for Madhya Pradesh. Gujarat has been opposing the proposal to give lions to MP and the battle is at its peak in the Supreme Court.

Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh said at a function to release 'A Handbook on Wildlife Law Enforcement in India' on Tuesday that he had made an offer to re-introduce tigers in the Purna sanctuary in Dangs where the big cats ruled the jungles about 25 years back. "I told Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) will work to re-introduce tigers in Dangs as an incentive for the state to part with its lions," he said.

Gujarat has been opposing the Centre's decade-old proposal to relocate Asiatic lions from Gir reserve to a 300 sq km forest at Kuno Palpur in Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh. The last census showed 359 lions spread over 1,500 sq km, and this time there are indications of numbers having grown. Ramesh admitted that he has been unable to find a reasonable reply to Gujarat chief minister's contention of community protection of wildlife in the state. The Maldhari community is known to protect the lions even at the cost of their own lives, he noted.

The study for the relocation of some of the Asiatic lions to Madhya Pradesh was planned in the 1980s taking into account the disaster in Seringeti forest in Africa where a disease—canine distemper—wiped out 80 per cent of the lion population. However, officials said that Gujarat was not taken into confidence when the proposal was being finalised. Gujarat has been saying that it has already started building a second home for lions at a safe reserve forest in Girnar area and has three different gene pools.

Creating a Gir in Corbett

Amid the court battle, the Centre appears to have learnt a lesson or two on community protection of wildlife and has implemented a similar project in Corbett. A team of 50-60 'van gujjars' has been formed in Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand in a bid to protect the flora and fauna of the bioreserve. "We are trying to replicate the Gir model in Corbett," Ramesh said.

Gujarat government is procuring high-tech gadgets like GPS, automated sensor grid and night vision devices to track lions and keep poachers at bay at the Gir National Park.

Poaching of eight lions in April 2007 in the Gir had sent shock waves across the state following which the state government formed a task force to suggest ways to protect the Asiatic lions in their last abode, whose number as per the last survey was 359.

"Based on the recommendations of the task force, we are in the process of introducing these high-tech gadgets in the Gir forest for lion conservation," Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife), Pradeep Khanna told PTI.

"We have identified technology partners for development of communication systems based on GPS," Khanna said.

The task force, which was also headed by Khanna, had proposed integrated solution to incorporate modern technology for enhancing conservation efficiency, he said.

Adding to the rising number of leopard attacks being reported from the state, a leopard injured three persons in a village in Talala taluka of Junagadh district on Tuesday morning. Sources said, the big cat first entered a house in Ankelwadi village after jumping a 15-ft-high wall and killed a calf in the cowshed. The inmates managed to scare away the animal by raising an alarm, but then the leopard also entered Lorvav Gir village and hid in a sugarcane field. Later, it pounced on three labourers working in the field and injured them. The workers have been shifted to Junagadh Civil Hospital. According to information received from Lorvav Gir village, three workers, Arvind Makwana, 25, Ramesh Vaghela, 18, and Rani Solanki, 40, were working in the field belonging to Damji Daya Ruparelia. Other workers came to their rescue but by that time the leopard had injured them badly. They were at first admitted to Talala hospital and later referred to Junagadh. Earlier in the month, two women were killed by a leopard in Veraval, one person was injured each in Porbandar district and Vapi, and 12 people were injured in an Anand village.

16-02-2010In fight between two lionsGujarat SamacharBriefly translated from Gujarati

Forest department had received information about an injured lion in Ghodawadi forest area in Gir East. On instruction of DCF M.Raja, RFO Mulani had put cages to catch the injured animal. One of them was caught and taken to Jasadhar animal care centre for treatment. Raja said that search is on for second lion. Infight may be due to territory or female.

In the meantime, Vaternary Dr. Vadher(Jasadhar) and Dr. Hirpara(Sasan) have given Volunteer resignation. Hence sick animals are at risk and need ungent Vats.

Farmer Gokal Vallabh Koli resident of Savarkundla, visited on of his friend's farm at Ditla village, 30 kms from here. When he arrived at the entrance of farm house, a leopard was sitting there to welcome him. On seeing the man, leopard ran towards him. Quickly Gokal put his motor-cycle in gear and ran away. He says he quickily escaped jaws of death.

16-02-2010Sakkarbag zoo full of "attacking" leopardsGujarat SamacharBriefly translated from Gujarati

Leopards have become concern not on for local villagers who are being attacked but also for Sakkar Bag zoo authorities as the zoo is "House Full".

There are about 359 lions but about 1100 Leopards in Saurashtra region. Due to Sugar cane farming, incidences of leopard attack have increaged, informs M M Sharma, CF-WL for Gir. This is big concern for the department he added. Rescue teams were kept at Sasan, Jasadhar and Mahuva, but due to increasing attack incidences, rescue team is also kept at Sakkar Bag zoo in Junagadh.

At present there are 46 leopards in the zoo and more cages are being nstalled to accommodate more leopards.

A leopard had attacked two pilgrims and killed one of them during Maha Shivratri fair at Junagadh. Bhavnath is next to Girnat WLS. Forest Dept. had put three cages to catch hold of the leopard. One of them was put Bhavnath-Kashmiri Bapu Ashram foot-path. The leopard got caught in that cage. It is taken to SakkarBag Zoo.

Seven peacocks were found lying dead on the banks of a river on the outskirts of Samadhiyala village in Khambha taluka on Saturday. Preliminary investigation of the forest department pointed towards food poisoning as the cause of death of the birds.

"As no injury marks were found, food poisoning is suspected. However, nothing can be ascertained till the post-mortem is conducted," said deputy forest officer of Dhari east range.

It may be recalled that a large number of peacock feathers were found from a farmhouse near Samadhiyala village, giving rise to the suspicion of peacock hunting in the area. However, the forest department's investigation of Saturday's incident did not yield any links to poaching.

Hundreds of trees were charred in a major fire that engulfed four hectares of Victoria Park, a reserved forest spread over 202 hectares in the heart of the city on Saturday.

According to fire brigade officials, the fire broke out at 5 pm on Saturday. Though the cause could not be ascertained, sources in the forest department alleged it was a handiwork of land sharks, eyeing property in the park worth billions of rupees.

"Such was the blazing inferno that its flames could be seen as far as two km from the park. The fire was eventually doused well past midnight after 45 tankers of water were sprayed using fire engines from Bhavnagar fire brigade and Sihor fire brigade," said fire brigade official Prakash Trivedi.

This was the second fire incident reported in Victoria Park, which witnessed a similar calamity just a week ago. "It's a part of some large-scale conspiracy hatched by land mafia who are desperate to lay their hands on the land inside the park," alleged district forest officer KS Randhava.

Victoria Park is the only reserved forest in the middle of a city after Pune in Asia. Local MP Rajendrasinh Rana made a representation before state forest minister Mangu Patel, calling for tightening of security cover around the park. "The two incidents of fire pose a serious threat to flora and fauna in Victoria Park. Personnel from the forest department guarding the park are ill-equipped to handle such emergency. I've urged the state forest minister to provide them with state-of-the-art equipment," Rana told reporters here.

14-02-2010Baby leopards killed by another leopardDivya BhaskarBriefly translated from Gujarati

The incidence of fight between two leopards was reported by RFO Kandoriya of Visawadar range. A dead body of leopard was found in cotton farm. On inspection by forest officials found that the animal was attacked by the another who had severly pirced its canine on the the neek. Pugmarks of big leopards were also seen. Hence they concluded the incidence as infight between animals.

Kishore's Comment :- Internal fight between wild animals is very common. It is nature's cycle of survival of the fittest. Such incidence have been happening every where in the world including Gir forest. But only difference is that now they are immediately reported in media!

14-02-2010Leopard kills One at BhavnathDivya BhaskarBriefly translated from Gujarati

A dead body of religious tourist was found near Kashmiri Bapu's place in the Girnar forest. The old saint(Sadhu) was passing by Sonal river alone when the leopard attacked him. Major part of his body was eat away by the leopard. Forest official Khimani informed police and the body was sent for post mortem. Leopard had severly mauled the man on chest, stomach and thighs.

Just before three-four days an old man was attacked by the leopard in Seshavan area. Forest department has put three cages to catch the leopard.

Kishore Kotecha's Comment:- Maha Shivratri fair near Girnar WLS and Bhavnath valley is over yesterday. Girnar WLS is well populated with wild animals like him and leopard.at the save time three quarter million people flock in this area during festivals & fairs like Maha Shivratri and Parikrama. This irritates and disturbs wildlife and hence such human-attacks are bound to happened. Best solution is restrict no. of tourist and areas of forest allowed to them during.

A leopard was found dead atop a hill of Nana Khorana forest in Ghogha taluka of Bhavnagar on Saturday night after it got entangled in a snare, the forest department confirmed on Sunday.

"Upon inspecting the site, we found three snares, about six feet long, kept at different places. The big cat was trapped in one of the snares and dies of strangulation as its neck was in a copper wire, the kind used on motorcycle clutches, that had pierced in to its throat," said deputy forest officer(DFO) KS Randhawa.

The leopard was about six years old. It turned out to be the same beast that had killed 18 sheep in Shobhavad village of Talaja taluka last week.

The forest department learnt about the incident after villagers of Nana Khokhara spotted the body of the big cat on Saturday evening. "As soon as we were told about the incident happened two days ago," another forest department official said.

The preliminary investigation revealed that the place where snares were setup was a grazing land. Sources in the department said it could be possible that the snares were placed by shepherds to ward off big cats. However, the possibility of poachers targeting lions was also not ruled out.

"We suspect the hands of locals in the incident, who may have tried to kill other wild animals like blue bulls and the leopard got trapped. Prima facie it appears culprits tried to hunt for a wild animal for its meat," the official told TOI.

Randhawa said, "Whether the snares were placed for lion hunting or poaching of some other small size animals will be known only after the culprits are nabbed." Meanwhile, the leopard's carcass was taken to Bhavnagar, where its post-mortem is scheduled on Monday. According to the forest department, there are six to seven leopards on the prowl in Nana Khokhara forest.

Tigers for Lions! Is this a serious matter or are playing children’s games? This offer to Gujarat by the Minister for Forest and Environment, Government of India is levity to the extreme. The wild lions and presumably wild tigers involved in the swop would be kept under safari conditions. Zoo animals could well serve the purpose and raising their off spring to be introduced into the wild would provide a logical and highly scientific step in the direction of a strong and purposeful drive towards increasing the number of purebred carnivores on Earth. Since the future demands that cramped zoos are transferred to large wildlife parks, and populations in these will need to be recorded in well maintained stud books, the process should be initiated with immediate effect instead of wasting emotions, time and resources on concepts of yesteryear.

Tigers will never roam free in the Dangs as indeed lions will not anywhere outside the Gir – the signs are already there of lions and panthers mauling migrant labor on the periphery of the Gir and tigers confronting humans in the other “success” story: the Corbet Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand.

Parochial or otherwise, Gujarat must stand firm in declining to give wild lions to Madhya Pradesh; instead the State must vigorously process the proposals for setting up gene pools at Ramparda, Hingol Gadh, and Ummat and prepare a Lion Safari cum Sanctuary in the Alech grasslands adjoining the Barda Hills.

In a first, the state Forest Department will be using Geographical Information System (GIS) for census of Asiatic lions in the Gir Forest National Park from April 25 to 30. Unlike in earlier methods, the department will not be using baits for the census this time.

Nearly 450 beat guards have been identified as enumerators for the upcoming census.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Pradeep Khanna said, "We are opting for GIS mapping to prevent redundancy and bring in more accuracy in counting."

According to Khanna, in the last census, a total of approximately 360 lions were reported at the Gir sanctuary.

"We will not use baits this year. We have not used the system for two consecutive terms. We have trained our staff to follow simply the sighting system," he said.

The preliminary survey for probable locations of sighting lions has already begun at the sanctuary.

Forest officials said, "We will also identify lions by their scars, which is a specific method for some animals who are found close to human habitats and those away from the area."

Khanna said: "The GIS system will help the Forest department to do away with the tabular form of saving the Asiatic lion census data. It will also facilitate the department to bookmark lion habitat including changing trends and seasonal patterns."

According to officials, new methods will be a combination of the earlier ones. "The census will be done in three parts. First, it will be counting, followed by rest for the staff and lastly the collation of sightings," said forest officers.

12-02-2010Cops on alert, leopard still on prowlTimes of IndiaPrint Edition

The forest department in Junagadh district is leaving no stone unturned to catch the leopard that killed two women on Tuesday night in Ishwariya village in Veraval taluka of Junagadh district. However, five cages put up in the area since Tuesday night and continuous patrolling of the forest area have yielded no results yet.

"We have heard the leopard's growl and also spotted its foot-prints around the area. We have placed cages at different locations and hope to catch it soon," range forest officer KR Vaghasiya said.

According to Vaghasiya, about 50 such leopards have been reportedly spotted in and around Veraval range.

"In the last two and half years, we have caught about 32 leopards from various places after having received complaints from locals, mainly farmers, who alert us on a sighting. Once we catch the big cat, we free it into the Sasan jungle," Vaghasiya said.

However, no untoward incident was reported from Porbandar district on Wednesday evening. In this case, a leopard attacked a teenager in Godhana village in Porbandar district.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

The Asiatic Lion, which migrated from Asia Minor, Iraq, Iran, Bulgaria through Afghanistan, Pakistan into India, ultimately settled in GIR Forests of Gujarat. They have settled in GIR and surrounding areas only because of strong support by erstwhile NAWAB of Junagadh and later on by Gujarat Forest Department and more important population around GIR, over hundred (100) villages. These villagers by now know that Lion is not a WANTEN killer like many other large predators. To some extent one can think of them as Noble Large Carnivore, who, by now, does not consider human being as its enemy. There have been several incidences where men have disturbed the Lions, they have not killed the man, but slightly injured him or greatly frightened him. In one case, to be specific, a farmer of North of GIR had thrown stone at Lion sitting in his cultivated field. Lion instead of killing him or even injuring him had just sat over the body of farmer for nearly half an hour, these goes to show that Lions do not consider humans as their natural enemy and just means to frighten him.

These habits of Lion are well understood by the population around GIR and whenever they encounter a Lion or Lions enters their villages, they immediately inform Forest Department at Sasan for taking them back in the forest- by either caging or by tranquilizing them

So when we read about proposed project to translocate some of the GIR Lions to Kuno Palpur, we need to think about or study, why Lions have survived in GIR and surrounding areas. When the selection of Kuno Palpur was made for rehabilitation of Lions, no thought was given to these aspects of Lion behaviour and attitude of surrounding population, when the project was prepared, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, they did not consult Gujarat Forest Department- including officers who had served in GIR for longer time.

When the project was launched, Madhya Pradesh Government and Government of India started instructing us to send Lions. Till now there's been no visit from Madhya Pradesh Forest Department to study Lions, their habitats, their behaviour, etc.

Another surprising thing occurred when this controversy was going on, Director Kuno Palpur(Conservator of Forest) came on one of the popular Television channel and very proudly mentioned that "THIS WILL BE FIRST TIME IN THE WORLD, WHEN YOU CAN SEE LIGERS AND TIGEONS, MOVING FREELY IN WILD IN KUNO PALPUR". Is this the "Conservation and Management of Wild Carnivores"?

Area of Kuno Palpur, as I believe is less than 400 sq. kms, which is much less than the required area, with prey base and free of disturbance. I have observed Lions local migration (in and around GIR) usually they require anything between 70 sq. kms for a male and pride, to about 200 sq. kms for a group of 3 males together. Moreover, periodically they do drift outside Sanctuary limits for few days, before returning back to their home range. When outside Sanctuary, they will visit village areas sit in cultivated fields (preferably in sugarcane field). People around GIR understood Lion behaviour not disturbing them and inform Forest Department. I do not know what will be the reaction of surrounding village population in Kuno Palpur?

There was a case in which a Lioness had moved out of GIR Sanctuary, from Devaliya-Amrapur route to Malia-Hatina village in the evening. On outskirts of Malia Hatina village, in railway mukadams house, about 20 people were sitting and watching a "Brahmachari" movie on Television. Lioness entered the inner room and kept standing at the door. People watching Television in darkness were frighten, but sat quietly without a sound, Lioness stood there for over five minutes, watched sitting people and went out of the door. I am afraid, something like this happens around Kuno Palpur, what will happen?

Surprisingly Kuno Palpur forest officers should have visited GIR, several time, discussed finer points of Lion behaviour and GIR staff could visit Kuno Palpur and offer some tips, hints to local staff, after seeing local situation there. More important according to me is to take villagers around Kuno Palpur to visit villages around GIR to leave personal interaction and understanding as to what situation may arise in the new habitat. Just translocating Lions to Kuno Palpur, as if they are being shifted to a Safari park will not be sufficient.

There should more interaction between GIR and Kuno, for successful interaction.

Also what about tiger presence around Kuno Palpur, not very far from Lions? How will both Carnivores react to each other? As such Kuno is comparatively smaller area for successful rehabilitation.

Amid the growing concern over the depleting tiger population in the country, Gujarat today opposed in the Supreme Court, the Centre's proposal to shift the Asiatic lions from the Gir forest to the Kuno tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh.

The Gujarat government warned that relocating lions from Gir was fraught with "irreparable damage to the sociology of lions" and asserted that MP cannot manage the relocation as it had failed to protect its own tiger sanctuary.

"MP's tigers are dying. It will be highly improper to shift the lions to Kuno reserve," Mukul Rohtagi, the counsel for Gujarat told a bench of Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and justices B S Chauhan and Chandramouli Prasad.

The Modi government argued that the people of the state take pride in the lion sanctuary. Any attempt to translocate them to Kuno "against the will of the people of Gujarat will cause irreparable damage to their conservation and cultural ethos."

The Union Ministry for Environment and the Wildlife Board had come out with the relocation proposal on the ground that the lion population could diminish in the event of an epidemic outbreak as witnessed elsewhere in 1994.

"There were eight tigers at Kuno in 1992 and as stated by the July 21, 2009 affidavit by Madhya Pradesh, there is no significant population of tigers at Kuno," argued the Gujarat government.

The state governemnt said that shifting the lions to Kuno will cause health problems to them as they would be prone to immune deficiency disorders. According to the Gujarat, government, the proposal for the translocation of lions is based on a false alarm/fear of an epidemic calamity on the specious arguments of the Gir lion's genetic weakness.

The state said the lion reserve had sufficient space of 20,000 km for free movement of the animals and breeding outside its family and there was also no room for man-animal conflict in view of the general public and government support for conservation of the reserved area.

The bench, headed by the Chief Justice, briefly heard the state' submission and asked the Centre and the two states to sort out the issue through consultation and report back after four weeks.

It is known as the last abode of Asiatic Lions. But the most common big cat that can be seen in the Gir Wildlife Sanctuary in Junagadh and its periphery is leopard.

Shrinking habitat coupled with increasing population of leopard has led to increase in human-animal conflict of late in the area. The most recent incident occurred this Wednesday when two women were killed by a big cat in the coastal area of Veraval.

In another incident reported the same day, a 15-year-old boy was injured by a leopard at Godhara village in Porbandar district. In the recent past, forest officials have been pressed into service on a quite a few occasions either to aid an injured one or trap those that had come close to human habitat.

According to officials at the Sakkarbaug Zoo, on an average, two leopards are brought to the zoo every week after being caught in revenue areas, often injured and sometimes following conflict with humans. Although the zoo is promoted as the breeding centre of Asiatic lions, the number of leopard here stands at 40 against 20 lions.

A top forest official said: "Lions also wander in search of food, but leopard, which is an opportunist hunter, prefers wait for prey. This increases chances of human and leopard conflict." These big cats generally hide in sugarcane farms and mango farms for days, the official added.

Conservator of forest M M Sharma said the leopard population is increasing due to the efforts of the government and support of the people. He said that "sometimes these conflicts are inevitable", but this does not mean that such incidents are on the rise. The zoo authorities said that 10 out of the total 40 leopards housed there presently have tested human blood.

The leopard population stood at 155 when the first census was done in the Gir in 1974. In 2000, their population was 311, which increased to 380 in the last census done in 2005.

The Narendra Modi government will not make any compromise when it comes to Asiatic lions found only in Gujarat's Gir reserve forest. Not even when it a friendly and BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh government's fervent request for relocating one or two prides of lions to Sheopur district.

Before the Supreme Court, the Modi government through senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi on Thursday raised as many as six objections to the Centre's almost decade-old proposal to relocate some lions from Gir to a 300 sq km forest at Kunopalpur in Sheopur district of MP.

Though the Modi government virtually signalled burial of the plan, the Shivraj Singh Chauhan government would not mind giving a final try as its counsel senior advocate Soli J Sorabjee said both sides would sit down and try for a solution.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices B S Chauhan and C K Prasad gave four weeks time to report back about the outcome of the last ditch attempt to make the relocation project workable and even suggested taking out an insurance package for the lions.

The Centre's plan, devised to save lions from a potential future disaster that could wipe them off as all of them are concentrated in the Gir forest, involved relocating two prides of lions numbering between 12 and 16 to Madhya Pradesh.

Amicus curiae Raj Panjwani informed the Bench that residents of as many as 24 villages falling within the identified area have been relocated in 2003, but the plan mooted by the Wildlife Insitute of India and approved by the National Board for Wildlife was still hanging fire.

Rohtagi said the state's opposition to the plan was based not on political but on solid environmental grounds. He said even the wildlife experts feel that lions could not be relocated to experimental surroundings already habited by tigers.

He said the number of Asiatic lions was increasing in Gujarat because of comprehensive action against poachers and the friendly villagers in and around Gir who do not wreck vengeance even if a lion occassionally mauled a bovine animal. In contrast, the tiger population in the jungles of MP were dwindling fast because of poaching and shrinking habitat, he added.

Rohatgi also objected to the relocation project being continued for 20 years. "It is not a question of taking away one or two lions. What they want is a continuance of the exchange programme for 20 years, which is not feasible," Rohatgi said.

The study for the relocation of some of the Asiatic lions to MP took into account the disaster some years back in Seringeti forest in Africa where a disease -- canine distemper -- wiped out 80% of the lion population within a short span.

Rohatgi said this apprehension has been taken care of as the state has already started building a second home for the Asiatic lions at a safe reserve forest in Girnar area.

The Supreme Court has asked the governments of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh to sort out within one month a dispute over shifting some Asiatic lions from the Gir sanctuary to the Kuno tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh. Gujarat is opposing the move, saying the transfer scheme neither has scientific basis nor was prepared after consulting all parties.

The Gujarat government told the apex court that it was being pressurised to shift the lions as the Centre feared they would get infected with Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) if they stayed at Gir. Lions in the Serengeti plains of Tanzania had been infected by CDV in 1994.

Gujarat told the court that the Centre's fear was not supported by scientific proof. It said the Kuno reserve isn't suitable because it houses tigers and its weather and environment isn't conducive for the survival of Asiatic lions. Moreover, the reserve is short of prey base.

A report quoting the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) says the Gir lion is the most threatened. Poachers are also always on the lookout for this breed because its bones are used in Chinese medicines. According to IUCN, there are less than 20 Gir lions in India. In 2007, 34 of them were poached, electrocuted and died in accidents.

12-02-2010Lion get young man by neckGujarat SamacharBriefly translated from Gujarati

More man animal conflict happened at Mota Mansa village near Jafrabad (part of greater Gir area). As story says, four man were guarding heard of their sheep and were sleeping in the outskirts of Selana-Mota Mansa village. One of them, Naran Mori (age-25) had covered himself with cream blanket due to chilly night. At about 11 pm, a lion came and caught the young man by neck understanding he was a sheep. Naran started screaming and lion was scared away. He was admitted to Jafrabad hospital.

For some strange reason, leopards are on the rampage in Saurashtra and south Gujarat. Two women were killed by a leopard in Veraval taluka of Junagadh district on Tuesday night. Though this was the first incident of its kind, the cats have been frequenting villages and towns as well as terrorising people quite frequently this month leaving forest department officials in a tizzy.

Meanwhile, the back-to-back incidents in Veraval taluka have triggered panic among farm workers. The two deaths occurred in Iswariya village in a span of eight hours. "Both women, hailing from Nandurbar in Maharashtra, were brought on contract to work in sugarcane fields. They were sleeping in makeshift shanties,"said deputy conservator of forests (Junagadh division), Anita Karne.

At 9.30 pm, the leopard attacked Bhanu Pandvi, 35, and dragged her away. People ran after the animal, confronted it and pulled away her body. They rushed her to a hospital where she was declared dead. The animal fled in the meantime.

Even as forest officials rushed to the site, around 4 am news of the second attack came from a nearby area, where 42-year-old Savitaben was the victim. The woman's mutilated body was found in a sugarcane field.

"The forest department has paid Rs 1 lakh as compensation to the next of kin," Karne said. Admitting that this was a rare incident where a leopard has attacked adult humans on purpose, without any confrontation, Karne asserted that the leopard was not a man-eater.

"We come across such attacks on domestic animals often," she said, adding that five cages have been put up in the area and patrolling has been beefed up.CATFIGHT Man-leopard conflict on the rise in stateFeb 10 | Leopard attacks sleeping devotee in Girnar foothills of JunagadhFeb 9 | Leopard enters home in Khambha taluka of Amreli, capturedFeb 9 | Leopard enters home in Vaghmara village in Songadh taluka of Tapi, man injured Feb 7 | Leopard caught in snare near Nana Khokhara forest in BhavnagarFeb 5 | Leopard found dead in Pardi taluka of Surendranagar, poaching suspected

Amidst growing concern over depleting tiger population in the country, Gujarat stoutly opposed in the Supreme Court, the Centre's proposal to shift the Gir Asiatic lions sanctuary to Kuno tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh.

The Narendra Modi government warned that relocating the lions from the Gir sanctuary in Gujarat was fraught with "irreparable damage to the sociology of lions" and asserted that Madhya Pradesh cannot manage the relocation as it had failed to protect its own tiger sanctuary.

The Modi government further argued that the people of the state take pride in the lions sanctuary and any attempt to translocate the animals to the Kuna reserve "against the will of people of Gujarat will cause irreparable damage to their conservation and cultural ethos."

The Union Ministry for Environment and the Wildlife Board had come out with the relocation proposal on the ground the lions population could diminish in the event of an epidemic outbreak as witnessed somewhere in 1994.

The Gujarat government's opposition to the translocation to the other BJP state comes in the backdrop of the growing concern in the country over the depleting tiger population, which is presently put at a dismal figure of less 1,500.

The Gujarat government, in its affidavit filed today, said the Centre was seeking to translocate the lion sanctuary despite the fact that the state had given adequate technical views and facts backed with sufficient evidence to the National Wildlife Board and the Environment Ministry against the proposal.

"Any artificial tinkering with the complex natural ecosystem and socio-cultural traditions that supports conservation of Asiatic lion in the Gir region, that too against the will and opinion of the local people, can never be a remedy unless and until the facts of its evolution and conservation in this region are fully understood.

"The present project proposal for translocation of lions from Gir to Kuno is one such proposal of artificial tinkering without fully understanding the conservation success at the Gir region," the affidavit said.

Terming the proposal as "ill-conceived and vague", Gujarat cited a variety of reasons to insist that Kuno tiger reserve was not suitable for translocation of lions for various reasons.

The reasons cited were: presence of tigers in the same reserve area would not be conducive to the habitat of lions, eco-climate being different from Gir, inadequate prey base, faulty projection in prey base growth; logistics and strain involved in transporting the lions to such a long distance.

Few farm labours were sleeping at Rajubhai Chhaganbhai's farm in Godhana- Vanzara village near Porbandar. Suddenly at 5AM, leopard attacked 15 year old boy Mulji. It caught the boy by its leg and pulled him for 15-20 feet. On hearing boy's cries, others woke up and scared away the leopard. Boy was rushed to nearby hospital.

When a leopard attacks for the first time, it is released free after 45 days imprisonment at Sakkarbag zoo. But it is caught again, it is assumed to be man-eater and the it gets life term. At present there are about 10 such leopards at Sakkarbag zoo. Five – Six out of hundred leopards caught get life term. Every year about 30-35 leopards are caught for human attacks. Due to this there are total 40 leopards at Sakkarbag zoo at present (highest number amongst all other zoos.)

Hamapur is a small village of Bagasara Taluka. It is about 40 kms from Gir East border. Yeaterday a pride of male and female lions killed two bullocks in market area of Hamapur. Forest department is trying to bring back the royal couple back in to the jungle.

Carcass of a leopard was found in the hilly area of Nana Khokhara forest in Ukharla village of Gohilvad region in Bhavnagar taluka on Saturday evening. According to the forest department, its the same leopard that had killed 18 sheep in Shobhavad village of Talaja taluka last week. The cause of leopards death will be ascertained only after postmortem. However, poaching or killing is not ruled out, said a forester.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

A leopard attacked a pilgrim in Girnar hills of Junagadh district in the wee hours of Tuesday. The man sustained injuries to his face and hands but has been saved.

According to sources at Junagadh Civil Hospital, Magan Balda,50,a native of Dhoraji taluka of Rajkot, has been camping with a group of pilgrims in Junagadh to offer voluntary services at the Mahashivratri fair, which is on at the foothills of the mountain.

Balda was sleeping at a temple near Bharatvan Sheshavan area when a leopard suddenly appeared from the forest and pounced on him at 5 am. His cries awoke the rest of the group, who managed to scare away the animal. Balda was shifted to Junagadh Civil Hospital where he is under treatment.

In Amreli, a leopard entered the house of Valji Akbaria at Bhad village in Khambha taluka of Amreli district on Monday. The region falls under Tulsishyam range of the forest cover.

Alarmed, Akbaria ran out of the house and with the help of his neighbours called the range officials, who rushed to the spot with a net. The officials caught the animal, a four year old female. The animal has been taken to a health centre at Jasadhar, where it will be kept under observation.

Lion census is scheduled in April 2010. at the time state Govt. has prepared a project of Rs. 550 crores (about 125 million USD) for protection of this highly endangered species. To execute the project, state Govt. has submitted it to the control Govt. with demand of Rs. 220 crores initially.

S. K. Nanda, Chief Secretary of MOEF informed that Gir lions are found only in Gujarat and only 359 have survived. To find location of the animals GPS systems, to prevent poaching speed guns, wireless sets and patrolling & protection forces are essential. Rs. 220 crores have been demanded for this purpose. Chief Minister has written to Minister of Environment and forest (of Central Govt) Shree Jayram Ramesh for financial assistance. He has said that central Govt. should spare funds for lions as it is doing for Tigers.

Wadal is a small village on the edge of Girnar Wildlife Sanctuary in Junagadh Taluka. On 8th Feb, pride of two lions killed a goat in Goganbhai Punjabhai's farm at Wadal village. Since last few months Lions visit to out – skirt villages of Girnar Wildlife Sanctuary is more frequent.

The incidence happened at Bhad(Vakiya) village near Khambha in Gir East in Tulsi Shyam range. At the time of incidence no one was present in the house of Valjibhai Keshavjibhai Akbari where the incidence happened. When the farmer realized about the animal he dimidiated closed the room door and informed forest department.

Sakkar baug Zoo in Junagadh, which has the distinction of housing two pairs of African Cheetahs, has removed the felines from public view due to illness.

The animals have been put under critical care for the second time since their arrival from Singapore in March 2009. Zoo officials said on Monday that three of the four cheetahs — male and two females— have taken ill, and that the condition of one of them is critical.

Zoo Superintendent Y J Rana said the animals have developed infection in the respiratory system and swelling in the liver. Besides local veterinarians, an expert from Anand has been called in. They are also in constant touch with experts from the Singapore Zoo.

Sources, meanwhile, said that two cheetahs have responded well to the treatment and have reportedly started taking food, while one has not taken food for the last two days.

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

After killing a bullock at Mandavan villaga, a pride of male, female and cub reached behind the telephone exchange area in Visavadar, RFO Kandoriya inform that after eating the kill, pride will go back to jungle in a day

There is something magical about seeing a lion in the wild. The Asiatic lion, found only in Gujarat's Gir forest today, can inspire awe, fear and respect all rolled into one when you share the same turn with him. You understand why he is called the king of the jungle.

So, what does it take to visit the lion in his kingdom in Gir? Not much actually - just a car and a budget of about Rs 20,000 for a couple of nights if you want a bit of luxury. But you can do it on shoestring budget as well...

The Gir National Park in Junagadh is spread over 1,412 sq km of lush green forest with a river and streams crisscrossing here and there. The April 2005 census stated Gir has 359 lions, an increase of 32 since 2001. The forest area and the lions were declared protected in the early 1900s by the then Nawab of the princely state of Junagadh and has continued to this day.

The ideal time to visit the forest is between December and April. The park remains closed between June and October. Though the lions are elusive, you can see at least one on a safari with a morning trip being the best.

Although the lions are the main show, Gir also has another attractive predator -- the leopard. The park is home to one of the largest leopard populations in India. During the summer months, they can often be seen at night close to the lodges. With many of these hotels and lodges situated near the jungle, one can even hear the roar of the cats late at night. Other residents of the park are Sambar deer, Chital, Spotted Deer, Nilgai four-horned antelope, Chinkara gazelle, wild boar, jackals, and Hyenas and numerous bird species.

If one fails to see the lion in the wild, the other option available is 12 km from Sasan at Devalia, which has the interpretation zone within the precincts of the sanctuary. Spread over 4.12 sq km, the zone has a cross section of wildlife in Gir, including half-a-dozen lions. One cannot take one's car into Devalia with the official government bus being the only mode of transport.

If you are only looking to enjoy a drive through Gir, you can take the several roads which pass through the jungle, like the Sasan-Visawadar stretch. But you have to take care not to step out of the car and cover the nearly 30 km stretch in two hours.

Besides, Kankai Mata and Tulsishyam temples are two pilgrim centres located in the park which are worth visiting, the highlight of Tulsishyam is the 'hot springs'. Somnath temple is also about 50 km from Sasan.

Besides, The highest point in Gujarat — Mount Girnar — has for centuries been one of the most important pilgrim sites in the state with 866 Hindu and Jain temples spread over five summits.

HOW TO GET THERE

ROAD | Gir National Park is 60 km from Junagadh, the most popular base. It is 360 km from Ahmedabad.

BY RAIL | One can travel by rail to Junagadh from Ahmedabad or Rajkot and take a 65-km road trip by bus or taxi to Sasan Gir

BY AIR | One can fly to Rajkot (from Mumbai) and then take a taxi to Sasan Gir.

PERMIT To enter the protected area, a permit can be obtained at the Sinh Sadan Orientation Centre between 7 am and 11am and between 3 pm and 5:30 pm.

BUDGET Rs 5,000 for two days if you choose a non-AC room. Average charges for non-AC rooms range from Rs 500 to 1800 .If you want to stay in an air-conditioned room, one would need Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 for a weekend trip. Charges for AC rooms start at Rs 3,500 per daySeveral hotels offer package tours which include safari, food and lodging. A two nights package can cost around Rs 17,000.

ENTRY FEE FOR INDIANS | Rs 600 per vehicle with up to 6 occupants from Monday to Friday and Rs 700 on weekends and holidays.

ENTRY FEE FOR FOREIGNERS | US $ 40 (must be paid in rupees).Rs 750 for jeep and guide for lion safari inside the sanctuary.

WHERE TO STAY There are some 110-odd air-conditioned rooms and equal number of non-AC rooms available in hotels around Gir.Many new hotels are situated on the banks of the Hiran river and offer airconditioned hut-like structures.CAMERA Rs 100 for a camera with over 7 megapixels